Loretta Little Looks Back: Three Voices Go Tell It

 

Loretta Little Looks Back: Three Voices Go Tell It by Andrea Davis Pinkney and Brian Pinkney is like no other book I've ever read.  The multi-generational, historical fiction novel begins during an unfair sharecropping agreement between the main character's family and a plantation owner in Mississippi. Then it shifts to surviving under Jim Crow Laws to eventually marching for civil rights.  It's a dramatic series of monologues that follows Loretta Little (from 1927-1930), Roly (from 1942-1950), and finally, Aggie B. (from 1962-1968). Each chapter has a where and when to set the stage for the reader as they step into the heart and mind of the characters.  The first-person narration told in verse, song, and illustrations transport the reader to the emotion of each character.

What stood out was how the author, Pinkney, incorporated real-life historical figures into her storytelling.  Readers can learn more about Fannie Lou Hamer, President Lyndon B. Johnson, James Forman, Emmett Till, Charles McLaurin, and of course, Martin Luther King, Jr. Pinkney also includes more information about sharecroppers in the southern U.S. with additional photos from that time.  

As a parent, teacher and librarian, I would share this book with 3rd graders and above.  It's certainly age-appropriate for readers to learn about the southern Black experience in the U.S.  Each character is strong, distinct and unforgettable.  The illustrations help readers understand the essence of the story without giving away too much.  

Here are several video interviews the Pinkneys did to share with readers:

Politics & Prose

Mom's Don't Have Time to Read Books 

Making Interracial Marriage Legal: Loving Vs. Virginia

 

According to Britannica.com, Loving v. Virginia, legal case, decided on June 12, 1967, in which the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously (9–0) struck down state antimiscegenation statutes in Virginia as unconstitutional under the equal protection and due process clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment.

A middle grades, historical fiction, novel-in-verse, Loving Vs. Virginia by Patricia Hruby Powell and illustrated by Shadra Strickland,  tells the story of a civil rights topic that has everlasting effects on the U.S.  

In the 1950s a majority of the country had laws against people of different races marrying.  Through this story the reader learns of Mildred (Millie), a young Black woman who lives in Virginia with her large family out in the country.  They farm, run a business and love playing music and dancing with their friends.  Richard, a young white man, is one of those friends who grew up with Millie.  As they get older they fall in love and have two babies.  They go to Washington D.C. to get married but are arrested after they return to Virginia.

Told in alternating viewpoints, the story unfolds as Rich and Millie Loving become outspoken about their right to marry and live in Virginia with their family.  Their tale is interspersed with primary sources that take place alongside their landmark Supreme Court case.  Moving, tender, and honest, every teen should read this book to understand more about the history of race relations and civil rights in this country. 

Watch a video interview of the creators of this book HERE.